Truth of Sweden is Stranger than Fiction

CANBERRA/LONDON/SYDNEY/STOCKHOLM — 'There's a point where morality flips', wroteElizabeth Farrelly for the Sydney Morning Herald on 12 April 2012 - the story of Julian Assange 'hinges on the uncomfortable relationship between truth and power'. But did she know how right she was?

'We expect truth-telling from our four-year-olds but not from our politicians. In the case of Assange, truth is actively and repeatedly punished. This implies that, as you move up through society's power strata, there's a point where morality flips.'

Farrelly went on to note a number of highly questionable things on the Australian political landscape.

Labor in New South Wales sent their politicians on a special course after their defeats in the recent elections. They had to learn how to be 'honest with ourselves and... the people we represent'.

Labor senator Mark Arbib, who was found to be key in the plot to replace PM Kevin Rudd with the very US-friendly Julia Gillard, was later found to be a secret US government source and grateful owner of a beachfront flat in Maroubra.

Arbib was the Canberra guest of Gillard staffer Alexandra Williamson for two years.

'It's the Philippines out there', Farrelly lamented, and proceeded to her punch line.

'I mention all this not just to illustrate that high-level grubbiness is so normal we almost expect it, but to highlight a more sinister possibility: that we, like the Philippines, are a puppet US state, where truth comes second to power.'

She could have left well enough alone at this point. But she didn't.

'It's quite clear that Assange is not guilty - not of rape, not of treason.'

That innocent remark unleashed a fury at 5 Turrana Street, Yarralumla - with the Swedish ambassador in Australia, Sven-Olof Petersson. Almost immediately, the Swedish foreign ministry wires were ablaze with email messages all asking 'what do we do?'

'What do we do?'

Ambassador Sven-Olof Petersson knew what he wanted to do. He wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald and, after complaining some things can be difficult to find on the InterTubes, managed to get the email address of Elizabeth Farrelly so he could send a tasty message to her as well.

Thank you for telling us that Mr Assange is innocent of everything. I will forward that to the judicial authorities in Sweden, which seem to be in some doubt! It is good to get this straightened out from someone who clearly was present during the 'penetrations'! I'm sure the Swedish prosecutor will appreciate your advice and take immediate action!

Also, thanks for telling us that the Swedish judicial system is 'impenetrable'. I think it needed an 'architect and author' to reveal this sad state of affairs. I'm afraid to say that Swedes aren't aware at all about this terrible situation!

That only thing that does puzzles [sic] me is that if the CIA now wants to get a hold [sic] of Assange, why don't they bring it up with their colleagues in the UK? After all, the UK is supposedly the closest ally of the USA, possibly together with Australia?

Sweden has excellent relations with the US, but is not an ally! It seems the UK would be a better bet! Don't you think?

To have someone extradited from Sweden requires a crime punishable with at least one year of imprisonment.

A person risking the death penalty can not be extradited. Nor can a person be extradited for 'political' or 'military' offences!

Petersson then wrote to Antony Lawes, editor of the Sydney Morning Herald.

In response to the article 'Truth of Assange is stranger than fiction' by Elizabeth Farrelly, it is interesting for me to note how much an 'architect and writer' from Downunder says she knows about the judicial system in far away Sweden and what happened there more than a year ago! Of course, as a writer she always has the right to live in fantasy-land! But why this contempt for a country of which she knows nothing?

But here are the facts!

The Swedish judicial system is transparent and independent. Consequently the Government has no views on what has taken place nor will it comment on actions taken by the relevant judicial authorities in Sweden nor the substance of the case.

I trust that is the same thing in Australia!

The Public Prosecutor has issued an arrest warrent [sic] regarding Mr Assange. That issue is now before the Supreme Court in the UK.

Extradition from Sweden can only take place if the alleged crime is punishable in Sweden with at least one year imprisonment. If the person is transferred to Sweden from another EU-country, based on an arrest warrant, extradition can take place only with the consent of this country.

A person risking the death penalty can not be extradited.

Nor can a person be extradited for 'political' or 'military' offences!

Personally I would advise Mr Assange to have full confidence in the Swedish judicial process.

Dear Mr Petersson,
We are running your letter in tomorrow's paper but with some minor changes. The edited letter is below. Please contact me should you have any queries.
Kind regards,
Antony Lawes

The redacted letter looked like this.

It seems that Elizabeth Farrelly ('Truth of Assange is stranger than fiction', April 12) has contempt for a country of which she knows nothing.

Here are the facts. The Swedish judicial system is transparent and independent. Consequently the Government has no view on what has taken place nor will it comment on actions taken by the relevant judicial authorities in Sweden nor the substance of the case. I trust that is the same thing in Australia.

The Public Prosecutor has issued an arrest warrent [sic] regarding Mr Assange. That issue is now before the Supreme Court in the UK.

Extradition from Sweden can take place only if the alleged crime is punishable in Sweden with at least one year imprisonment. If the person is transferred to Sweden from another EU-country, based on an arrest warrant, extradition can take place only with the consent of this country.

A person risking the death penalty can not be extradited.

Nor can a person be extradited for 'political' or 'military' offences.

Personally I would advise Mr Assange to have full confidence in the Swedish judicial process.

Sven-Olof Petersson
Ambassador of Sweden
Yarralumla (ACT)

Petersson wasn't happy. And this time he sent his reply to all his buddies in the foreign ministry (and seems to have sent it to his boss Anders Jörle twice).

Thanks for publishing my short letter regarding Elisabeth [sic] Farrelly's rambling opinion piece about CIA-controlled labor, innocent Assange and about her special contempt for my country!

However, the way you choose to cut down my letter sends a strong signal that while your columnists are free to write any kind of rubbish, you will not allow those effected [sic] to critize [sic] your columnists!

Can't you write a proposal from your local perspective that we can check out according to what Sara suggests? The legal process in the UK is ongoing, so this is a sensitive issue.

Anders

A Few Real Facts

It's now been demonstrated beyond any doubt that the case of Assange in Sweden has long since been hijacked by the US. The following letter was, for example, processed correctly - but summarily ignored.

And we all know how the US pressured William Hague at the FCO to storm the Ecuadorian embassy to get Assange, damn the torpedoes - a move so drastic it would have resulted in a worldwide diplomatic crisis.

This isn't and likely never has been about a broken condom. Eva Finné said so already back on 21 August 2010.

The Swedish judicial system is neither transparent nor independent. It's hard to achieve transparency when courtroom doors are closed to the citizenry and verdicts are sealed because the lay judges are embarrassed at their own incompetence.

The Swedish judicial system is not independent when the likes of the da Costa scandal and the Quick scandal can take place - where innocent people are convicted over and over again without a shred of evidence, where cronies come out of the woodwork when their friends are finally outed, where the media - with the notorious Expressen often in the forefront - conduct vitriolic hate campaigns against people who are supposed to be presumed innocent.

And all the guarantees in the world by Swedish morality flippers at ambassadorial outposts don't mean squat when the likes of the following can happen.

Repatriation of Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad al-Zery

Agiza and al-Zery were two asylum seekers from Egypt who made the mistake of thinking Sweden was a neutral fair country. They came to Sweden but were summarily 'rendered' by the CIA to Mubarak's torture chambers in Egypt from Bromma airport outside Stockholm.

The following images are from a reenactment of Mubarak's welcoming party.